Yard Saling
My mother loves yard sales. She goes crazy in the summer because there are so many "neighborhood" yard sales in our area. She collects change and saves dollars and makes plans. There is nothing she’d rather do, I think, than go yard “saling”. She also likes to go discount shopping for her grandkids. And so, during the summer, the homes of her children become cluttered with things she wants to give her grandchildren. Sometimes we keep it and sometimes we don’t. If we don’t keep that stuff then we don’t tell my mother. We have never convinced her to give up her "saling" ways and so have learned to live with it. Recently she decided to buy Mags some preschool furniture. Mags doesn’t really qualify as "preschooler" anymore, I don’t think, but she really likes the stuff my mother bought her.
Now every time we’re watching Nickjr. or Nickelodeon (we don’t watch too much Disney Channel, even though Hannah Montana dwells there) she sees new things that she wants in her room. Little furniture that is designed to look like adult furniture. It’s very cute. She’s got a little recliner and a little desk. Now she wants a vanity and a kitchen set. She did just get a little chef’s set that is very cute. She got measuring cups and spoons, bowls, a stirrer, a chef’s hat and a recipe book. That’s been fun, except she’s beginning to think she should be able to operate the stove on her own and recently scrambled some eggs on the sly (I had to cook them after she’d already broken and scrambled them).
We’re considering having our own yard sale at this point. I hate setting them up and waiting outside for people to wander on by, but usually it’s pretty profitable. Of course, the last time we had a yard sale we sold all of Mags’ baby stuff then Pee Wee decided to get pregnant and we had to go out and buy all new stuff. But that’s not the point (no way am I getting pregnant again and hopefully Pee Wee is being ultra-careful now). I hate to part with much of the things I know we have to get rid of and I hate the idea of cleaning it all up and setting it out. However, if we’re going to do it, I don’t want to do it like those people who just grab dusty, moldy stuff out of their basement and plop it in their yard. Yes, it’s used, but who wants to buy dirty stuff and then take it home to clean it up? Not me. So I don’t expect my customers to have to do that. I think that’s primarily why I don’t want to get things together for one—though we do need the money.
There are so many sales going on in our town right now. The economy’s bad here and people are looking for bargains from people who are trying to make a little extra money. Then there are the collectors and ebay sellers looking for stuff to put up. It’s an interesting collection of personalities that are found at yard sales. Sometimes you can find some really good things at them for very good prices. My mother, though, needs to take a break from her addiction and stop giving us stuff that will ultimately go in our own sale. Really. Please…
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The last few weeks have been hectic and more than a little dramatic—drama which probably is best left untold to the public. I did, though, get some much needed rests even though it wasn’t the ‘fun’ and ‘relaxing’ type of rest that I was hoping for. As it is, I’m back now and all is well again in my world. So…
I’ve been trying to keep up with my favorite show, Burn Notice, as much as possible. Of course, my favorite character is Madeline (played by Sharon Gless). she’s a mother who is helpless to stop her son from putting himself in danger on a daily basis. One of my favorite scenes is when Madeline and Michael are in Michael’s dad’s car. Michael is taking apart the dash kits exterior in an effort to repair the rigged electrical system that kept the car in disrepair (apparently Michael’s dad didn’t do anything properly). There is a closeness between parent and child that I had never noticed in the show before, and I think that scene is what made me a true fan. It’s a semi-private moment between the two that defines their relationship as closer than just as meddling, demanding mother who is interfering with her ever-suffering son’s life.
In a sense, I have that kind of relationship with my own daughter. She’s moved out on her own and I still want to protect her from the cold, hard world. She, of course, doesn’t want that kind of protection and has, in fact, moved to another town to assert her independence even further. I don’t have an empty nest, obviously, but I still miss having her under my wing. When Mags goes out on her own in 13 years I hope I’m better equipped emotionally to handle it. As it is now I’m enjoying an excellent spy show not for it’s action, but or the relationship development between a mother and her child.
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